Chapter 11 of 100

Chapter 11: Growing Up

8 min read2,063 words

The black dragon Eilin Fritani found the sweet potatoes that Sejun had hidden in a corner of the cave. After much persistent persuasion (?), she received three sweet potatoes and some leaves as a quest from the human and began to roast them in the hearth.

Making roasted sweet potatoes seemed very easy, as it only required wrapping them in leaves and putting them in the fire, which looked simple from the perspective of a crystal ball.

"A human can do it, so the great black dragon like me can certainly do it too."

Eilin was confident of her success.

However, the first batch of roasted sweet potatoes was completely burnt and had to be thrown away. The second batch was taken out too early and was not cooked through. Roasting sweet potatoes was a profound culinary art that tested one's patience.

"Hehehe. Did it turn out well?"

Eilin, with eyes full of expectation, took out the last roasted sweet potato from the hearth, which was emitting a sweet aroma. Having learned from her two failures, she was confident this time would be a success.

She carefully picked up the roasted sweet potato with her fingers and broke it in half.

"Hmm?"

It felt different from when she had broken a roasted sweet potato given by a human. What was it?

But as soon as the yellow, well-cooked inside of the roasted sweet potato was revealed, steaming hot, she quickly forgot about the difference.

"Done! It's done!"

Eilin was delighted to see the completed roasted sweet potato.

"Hehehe. Human, did you see? This is the roasted sweet potato made by the great black dragon Eilin Fritani!"

Eilin looked at the roasted sweet potato with a proud expression.

And then,

"Ah."

She peeled the skin and put half of the roasted sweet potato in her mouth.

It would probably taste better if she bit into it like a human, but she was a black dragon. She couldn't tolerate acting like a human, which would lower her dignity.

Crunch.

"Uh?!"

This wasn't the texture she was expecting. Her teeth should have gone in without resistance, but she felt a subtle resistance. It wasn't the soft, chewy texture of the sweet potatoes given by humans.

Moreover, it was sweet, but it didn't have the concentrated sweetness of the first roasted sweet potato she had eaten.

"How can this be? My fire is stronger... Why is mine less tasty..."

Eilin couldn't believe that the great black dragon like herself couldn't roast sweet potatoes as well as a human.

A dragon like me can't control fire better than a human! Eilin was disheartened.

"Ugh! My pride is hurt!"

Eilin was frustrated once again.

"Maybe I should see what the human is doing to cool off?"

Eilin started to watch Sejun in the cave through the crystal ball.

***

Squeak!

Sejun woke up to the busy sounds of the rabbit couple moving around.

"Ah!"

Sejun got up and went to the wall where he recorded the days.

And then,

Swish, swish.

He drew a line with a fish bone to complete the character 正.

On the wall, there were two lines of 正, each with ten, and a third line with four completed 正.

[Day 120 of being stranded]

'Almost four months have passed...'

Sejun glanced at the wall, went to the pond to wash his face, and had breakfast.

Then he started his morning farming.

Tap, tap.

[You have harvested well-ripened magic cherry tomatoes.]

[Your job experience has increased slightly.]

[Your Harvesting Level 2 proficiency has increased slightly.]

[You have gained 10 experience points.]

...

Thud, thud, thud.

The baby rabbits ran up to Sejun, who was harvesting cherry tomatoes, and made pitiful faces.

"Huh. If you think I'll give you cherry tomatoes just because you make such pitiful faces, you're mistaken."

Thud?

Is Uncle crazy? The baby rabbits, not understanding Sejun's words, tilted their heads and started to back away.

Sejun's isolated humor had evolved independently, like the Galapagos, or perhaps regressed.

"I'll give you some if you rub my cheek."

As the baby rabbits were about to run away, Sejun quickly got to the point.

Thud...

The baby rabbits frowned and sighed. It seemed their affection for Sejun was decreasing in real-time.

I'm sorry. I didn't realize it was such a big request.

"Uncle was just joking. Here..."

As Sejun hurried to hand over the harvested cherry tomatoes,

Hop, hop.

One of the baby rabbits, who was particularly fond of Sejun, jumped from the ground to Sejun's knee and then to his shoulder.

And then,

Rub, rub.

The baby rabbit rubbed its face against Sejun's cheek. The soft fur felt pleasant.

"Ooh! You get two!"

Sejun gave two cherry tomatoes to the baby rabbit that listened to him and one to each of the others.

Thud!

The baby rabbits that received only one cherry tomato protested, but Sejun didn't give them any more.

"Hehehe. This is what happens when you make Uncle feel bad."

The baby rabbits, hearing Sejun's words, made a "Hmph" sound and went to a cool spot in the cave to eat their cherry tomatoes.

After finishing the cherry tomato harvest, Sejun took a short break and prepared grilled piranhas for lunch.

At that moment,

[The tower manager is angry at you.]

"Again?"

Sejun casually ignored the message from the tower manager, who was angrily raging for no reason.

At first, he was very tense, thinking it was a big deal, but after several such messages, he just shrugged it off.

'Is it a problem with anger management?'

When it was time for lunch,

Buzz, buzz.

The venomous bees came to work, as usual, to collect nectar.

"Come on."

Rub, rub.

The venomous bee landed on Sejun's shoulder while he was watering the carrot field, rubbing its body against Sejun's face to punch in for work.

And then,

Buzz, buzz.

It flew to the flowers to collect nectar. However, it went to the leek field, not the cherry tomato field.

The leeks, which he had left to flower without cutting the leaves, finally bloomed. The venomous bee first collected nectar from the leek flowers before moving to the cherry tomato flowers.

"I need to pick the leek flowers today."

It was time to collect leek seeds. After finishing lunch, Sejun pulled out the leeks that had bloomed, roots and all. Leeks that have flowered and fulfilled their role will die, so they needed to be harvested and eaten quickly. Grilled leeks were added to today's lunch.

The leek flowers were separated and dried in the sun. When the leek flowers were thoroughly dried, the seeds would easily fall out when shaken.

Sejun dried the leek flowers in the sun and started his afternoon farming.

Buzz, buzz.

As evening approached, the venomous bee came to spit out the nectar and returned home, and the afternoon farming went smoothly.

"In two days, it will be the Blue Moon."

After eating dinner and digesting, Sejun, who was pacing back and forth, looked at the wall calendar and said.

This was the fifth Blue Moon since being stranded in the tower.

The fourth Blue Moon passed peacefully, but the third Blue Moon brought monsters, so he couldn't be complacent.

"I hope this one passes safely too..."

Worried, Sejun sat in his designated spot. Seeing the crops growing vigorously in the sun, a bright feeling welled up in Sejun's heart, pushing away his worries from a moment ago.

"I'm happy."

From Sejun's designated spot, the first quadrant had leeks, the second quadrant had cherry tomatoes, the third quadrant had carrots, and the fourth quadrant had sweet potatoes, all of which made Sejun feel secure.

Thus, another day passed, and it became Day 121 of being stranded.

Today was similar to usual, except that the venomous bee didn't come for lunch. It seemed the venomous bee was also preparing for the Blue Moon.

As evening approached, Sejun turned off the lights, gathered earplugs made from leek leaves and cherry tomatoes, and prepared for the Blue Moon.

Sitting in a corner of the cave, Sejun saw a scene different from usual.

"Why aren't you going in yet?"

The rabbit couple placed the baby rabbits on Sejun's designated spot and tied their legs together with leek leaves.

And then,

Squeak...

The rabbit couple returned to the cave, watching the baby rabbits for a while and making sad sounds before closing the entrance.

"What? Why are you doing this?"

Thud!

As Sejun hurried to bring the baby rabbits over, they lifted their soft paws with determined expressions, telling him not to come closer.

And then the Blue Moon began.

***

There is a tradition among the farmer white rabbits. On the fifth Blue Moon after birth, they must receive the light of the Blue Moon to become true adult farmer white rabbits.

Therefore, today was the most important day for the baby rabbits.

The baby rabbits looked up at the sky with expectant expressions, waiting for the Blue Moon to rise.

As the sky turned blue and the Blue Moon's energy descended through the cave opening onto the baby rabbits,

Thud!

Although they were rabbits, they were still monsters. Upon seeing the light of the Blue Moon, the baby rabbits let out screams of excitement.

Crunch, crunch.

The muscles of the baby rabbits began to swell. The small rabbits, which were smaller than a palm, transformed into 30 cm muscular rabbits. They also had a 王 mark on their bellies.

If rabbits can transform to this extent during the Blue Moon... Sejun didn't want to imagine what other monsters could do.

Thud!

The baby rabbits continued to scream and look up at the sky. Fortunately, no monsters came to the cave, drawn by the baby rabbits' cries.

The Blue Moon passed safely once again.

Thud...

As the Blue Moon ended, the muscles of the baby rabbits deflated like a balloon, and they returned to their cute forms. However, their size had changed to be similar to the rabbit couple, indicating they had become adults.

At that moment,

Boom.

A blue light exploded from the bodies of the baby rabbits.

"Uh?!"

Sejun, who was watching the baby rabbits, witnessed a fascinating scene. The blue light moved to the tips of the baby rabbits' hands, gathered, and transformed into items.

'So that's why I couldn't use the husband rabbit's watering can.'

Sejun realized why the watering can didn't work when he used it. It seemed that farmer white rabbits had their own personal items.

The items gradually took shape, turning into a spade, a sickle, a hoe, a watering can, and a cart.

And then,

"A pestle?"

Is it a hammer because it's made of metal? Suddenly, an item from a different genre appeared.

[Warrior Black Rabbit]

"Warrior Black Rabbit?"

Thud!

Hop!

Rub, rub.

The Warrior Black Rabbit, thinking Sejun had called it, climbed onto his shoulder and acted cute. It was the one that had received two cherry tomatoes from Sejun.

In the morning, the adult rabbits no longer played. Each used their farming tools to help with the work.

The rabbit with the watering can helped the husband rabbit water the crops, and the rabbit with the sickle helped the wife rabbit cut leek leaves.

The rabbit with the cart carried the cut leek leaves and moved the harvested crops to the storage, while the two rabbits with spades expanded the fields to plant more seeds.

Although their skills were still immature, the farming tools, being items, greatly helped the farming.

The Warrior Black Rabbit, without a farming tool, helped Sejun with hunting.

Splash.

As Sejun waved a torch near the pond, a piranha leaped out.

"Now!"

Squeak!

At Sejun's signal, the Warrior Black Rabbit, waiting in ambush, leaped to strike the piranha with its hammer.

However,

Thud?

The timing was off. The Warrior Black Rabbit's body had already collided with the piranha before it could swing the hammer.

Thud!

Fortunately, the body check worked, and the Warrior Black Rabbit fell out of the water with the piranha.

Thud.

As soon as it landed, the Warrior Black Rabbit quickly got up.

And then,

Squeak!

It ran to the thrashing piranha and struck it with the hammer.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Although it was unclear why the